Editorial: Nice try, Governor

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen will leave office in a few months with no shortage of accomplishments to his name.

Not among them will be his defense of the way the Board of Regents rigged its selection process for chancellor so that Deputy Gov. John Morgan would slip effortlessly into the job. Labeling some of the criticism "political" might be correct, but it doesn't make it any less valid.

It may be true, as Bredesen observed, that changing qualifications for the job had been discussed for years and that people without advanced degrees are leading educational institutions. But Bredesen is not addressing the main issues with Morgan's selection -- that the educational requirement was lowered on his behalf and that no one else was interviewed for the job.

Morgan, a former state comptroller, was properly credited by Bredesen for requesting that his salary be dropped to the $305,000 paid outgoing Chancellor Charles Manning. But that still leaves him with a $125,000 raise.

After helping shape recent changes in the state's higher education system as an author of the Complete College Tennessee Act, Morgan is probably well suited to lead the Board of Regents.

How he was selected, however, is a good example of why the public lacks faith in government fairness and transparency.